The Uncertain Path
by Ceillean
Summary: A certain Jedi changes Cherris Elsons life forever.
1. Chapter 1

_"Will you tell us a story?" Young Caven sat at his grandmothers feet, gazing up to her kind, wrinkled face. Her hair, the color of the whitest snow, was bunched together at the top of her head; the work of Caven's little sister. Lannah loved playing with her grandmother's hair. It was like playing with a doll, she had once said, because Grandmother kept so still._

_Caven sighed inwardly. Even though he was only thirteen years old, he knew his Grandmother was very old and that soon she would sleep forever. She never showed it but she was in pain. Caven's father had so far not felt the need to elaborate but when listening to the grown-ups talk, he caught a few snippets of conversation. Grandmother was very ill._

_Caven's heart suddenly felt heavier._

_"But you've heard most of my stories already." The old woman said with a smile on her face. Caven knew from holopictures that she had been a beautiful woman in her younger days. Long, wavy dark hair had surrounded her round face and the darkest eyes shone with delight at life. His father had once said that Grandmothers' smile could knock anyone off their feet. _

_Caven shrugged, "I like listening to all the adventures you've been on."_

_Lannah, sitting beside Caven on the floor, laughed, "You shouldn't believe everything, Caven. I'm sure Grandmother's made up a few of her stories."_

_The old woman laughed silently, as she stretched her tired and swollen legs towards the flickering flames within the fireplace. _

_The children came to visit her often. She had chosen a life at the outskirts of the large city, alone in a small stone house within the darkness of the woods. Here she could reach out to life without technologies in her way. _

_"On the contrary, Lannah my dear. What I've told you so far has been the truth."_

_Lannah smiled, "Isn't there at least one story we haven't heard yet?"_

_The old woman sighed and leaned back in her weathered chair. It was her favorite piece of furniture; a large handcrafted wooden chair, with light brown flowered padding, which had belonged to her Grandmother before her. _

_A long sigh escaped her throat as she closed her eyes. The flames within the fireplace crackled and the colors reflected off her pale skin. Caven was again reminded at how old his Grandmother really was. When she finally opened her eyes again, Caven saw something there he hadn't seen before. _

_Excitement? Glee? He couldn't quite pinpoint it._

_"There is one story I haven't told you yet. I've been saving it up for the end."_

_Neither of the children said a word. They watched their Grandmother in silent fascination as she continued talking in a hushed voice, "I've told you about the Jedi of old. They were different than the Jedi we know today." She nodded to herself and suddenly a wide smile spread across her face, "There were a few Jedi who stood out. One in particular."_

_Caven was astounded when he heard his Grandmother chuckle, "We met under the strangest of circumstances."_

_"Is this story about you then?" Lannah asked, suddenly very interested._

_Her Grandmother nodded, "Yes. And it's a story I've told no one before." She sighed, "I've written it down so many times, hoping to never forget. To never forget the one Jedi who changed my life."_

_She sat up straight and leaned forward, first patting Lannah's dark hair and then softly touching Caven's cheek, "This all happened so many years ago, it's almost only a dream." She smiled a smile belonging to the young woman Caven knew from the holopictures._

_She began her story, "Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away…" _


	2. Chapter 2

Cherris Elson lay atop a small mound, her elbows propped onto the loose dirt, gazing through a pair of electro binoculars. A few hundred meters ahead, she watched with awed fascination as native animals – large, round and lucid beings – floated through the air, as if carried by currents. A grin spread across her face, "Magnificent." She whispered, zooming in on the strange creatures.

"They look like balloons to me." Aeron Sloan, a tall, dark and very handsome young man, stated as he knelt down beside his partner.

Cherris chuckled and nodded, "A little bit." She agreed, clipping the binoculars back onto her belt, "I guess we should head back to camp. We've collected enough samples for one day."

"Animals, plants and dirt. The adventurous lives of botanists." Aeron sighed melodramatically, as he swung his backpack over his shoulder and got back to his feet, "Lead the way, Lieutenant."

They clambered back down the mound, dirt and small rocks sliding behind in their wake.

The team had landed on a large planet far out on the Outer Rim. According to sources unknown to Cherris, it was an uninhabited planet, suited for humanoid needs; a planet taken under consideration for colonization.

The animal and plant life still needed to be examined most thoroughly before Cherris would give an okay to her superiors. It could take months, perhaps even years, before everything was catalogued the way she wanted it and she already knew that this would not be enough for the Command structure.

They wanted fast results she knew she wouldn't be able to give.

She pushed the thought to the back of her mind as she descended a sandy hill back towards their camp. The planet was more desert than anything else but the heat was bearable. A golden sun hung above them in the beautiful light blue sky, bathing them in warmth.

Cherris stopped for a moment, closing her eyes and lifting her head towards the sun. She smiled and took a deep, cool breath, trying to take in everything her senses would let her. She heard unknown wildlife all around her, birds and small insects and occasionally a scuffling somewhere beneath her feet.

It was a fascinating experience, one she was bound never to forget.

"What in the Gods names are they _doing_?" Aeron suddenly exclaimed, one hand shading his dark eyes, the other pointing upwards towards a wad of black smoke.

A sickening feeling settled into the pit of Cherris' stomach as she rummaged through her pack for her com link. "Elson to base, please come in."

Static was her response. "Elson to base, please come in." she said again, changing the frequency. There was no answer. Coldness spread up her spine as she suddenly made out a low rumbling sound coming from above.

Even though she was only a scientist , she knew the sound of a ship's propulsion system.

Cherris shifted her gaze to the blue sky, suddenly not so beautiful anymore, as a pair of one manned fighters flew by in low orbit. The sonic boom was almost deafening and she shielded her ears as she began to run.

There was no where to hide, being in the middle of the desert but she remembered a cave system they had found on their last excursion one or two kilometers west from their position.

They ran as fast as they could, more fighters coming into view. Cherris had the feeling they'd never make it but a flicker of hope made her run a bit faster as she caught sight of the first large boulders; the beginning of the stone desert.

"We're almost there!" Cherris called over the noise, hoping that her smile was a reassuring one.

There was a sudden loud bang and Cherris was hauled from her feet. It seemed like minutes until she finally hit the ground with a painful crash.

Lying on her stomach she could see Aeron bleeding from mouth and nose. His eyes were still open, a look of shock forever etched onto his face.

Cherris groaned and slowly got to her feet. Her ears were ringing and she felt a stinging in her left leg. Trying to ignore the growing pain, she hurried on catching sight of the cave entrance she had examined only a day before.

A few more steps, she thought, only a few more steps and you can rest.

The fighters were gone once she reached the entrance, seemingly giving up on her. But then again, they might come back later, she thought to herself as she leaned against the cool, damp wall within the cave.

There was a light dripping sound coming from deep within the darkness and a cool, moist breeze danced with her hair.

Cherris closed her eyes and tried taking deep, steadying breaths. Aeron's lifeless form was burned into her memory. She decided to retrieve his body once it got dark outside, hoping that whoever had attacked would be long gone by then.

She sat down on the wet ground, her entire body shaking.

I'm still alive, she thought, and I have to tell Aeron's wife that he died on a mission.

She shook her head and covered her eyes with dirtied hands. "How?" she whispered into the dark, tears wanting to break free.

Cherris tensed as she heard something from within the cave. At first she hoped it was her imagination playing tricks on her but again there was a definite sound of heavy footsteps coming her way.

"Oh, rotten luck." She murmured getting to her feet.

For a moment she stood rooted; she didn't have much promising choices. Either take her chance with the attackers outside or wait and see who or what came out of the dark.

At least outside I can see who wants to kill me, she thought and moved back towards the desert.

But a hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder, flinging her to the cold ground and darkness grabbed her.


	3. Chapter 3

She felt nauseous as she opened her eyes. A blackened sky greeted her, stars twinkling in so many different, beautiful colors.

Her stomach suddenly convulsed and the need to vomit arose. Cherris turned onto her side, trying to sit up but failing to do so. Her arms gave away and she lay on her side, not wanting to move. There was a sudden stinging pain in her leg and she remembered that Aeron had died, that someone had attacked the camp.

Taking a deep, steadying breath she twisted around on the ground, suddenly catching sight of a pair of black boots, belonging to a tall, dark clad man pointing a blaster pistol at her.

Instantly her hand went to the empty holster at her hip. It was her weapon.

"Who are you?" she asked, willing herself into a sitting position.

"I'm the one who saved your life."

Cherris frowned, her hand going to the back of her head. "Aren't you the one who hit me?"

To her surprise the stranger laughed, "No. I don't hurt prisoners."

"Ah. How kind of you."

Cherris slowly got to her feet, the pain in her ankle hitting her full blow. All the while the stranger had the blaster pointed at her; it was more than just a little disconcerting.

As she turned around she caught sight of a large humanoid lying on the desert ground a few meters in front of her. He was a scraggly looking human being, with an overly large head and long, shaggy blond hair. He seemed to be wearing animal hide; Cherris frowned.

"Well," she said shaking her head, "I guess this place is inhabited after all."

"Why are you here?" the stranger asked, the blaster pistol firmly in his grasp.

"We're an expedition force on a reconnaissance mission. Our superiors found this planet a few months ago and we've come and gone ever since." A frown creased her forehead, "I suppose you know all this already? Or else you wouldn't be here."

He suddenly jumped to his feet with an odd expression on his face. There was something there that kept Cherris on edge.

"We have to leave. " he said, gesturing with the blaster for her to move. But Cherris shook her head, "I'm not leaving without my team mate. He died when we got hit."

The stranger nodded, "I know. We don't have time to retrieve his body right now."

Cherris started to protest but the stranger held up the blaster, a very good argument on his part.

"Once this is over with, we'll come back later." He said, pointing for her to move on, "We're headed back to your camp. We need to see if you can find working comm equipment."

Cherris arched an eyebrow, "So you have friends waiting on you?"

But he kept silent and she walked.

While on the short trek back to her camp, Cherris wished for some sort of communication. Just to keep her mind off Aeron.

She wasn't one to weep in front of other people, especially strangers with weapons but Aeron had been more than just her partner. During their two years working together, he had become something of a very good friend. They had laughed a lot, had talked about almost everything.

Just the previous week Aeron had complained about his lack of intimacy with his wife.

Cherris let a small smile play across her face as she recalled Aeron's physical imitation of his partner for life.

And now Aeron's cold body lay rotting away in the dessert. She closed her eyes to fight back tears. It hadn't been an honorable way to die.

But I'll give you an honorable funeral, you have my word, she thought and cleared her throat, "What's your name?" she asked the stranger, who was still only a few feet behind her.

It was still too dark to make out his features but something reflecting the moonlight suddenly caught her attention. Hanging at his belt was a long cylinder and she recognized a lightsaber.

She sucked in her breath involuntarily, "You're a Jedi." She said with amazement evident in her voice.

The stranger cocked his head to one side and Cherris thought she saw a smile on his face, "Yes." He answered but didn't elaborate any further.

Cherris cleared her throat, "But you do have a name, though, correct?"

At first she thought he was deliberately ignoring her but then she realized he was hesitating with his answer.

"Are you undercover? Not allowed to give away your identity, huh?" Cherris rolled her eyes and walked on. The pain around her ankle was getting worse, she noticed with annoyance and she heaved a sigh.

They approached the camp in a slow trot, smoke and ill smelling fumes rising to the sky. The tents the team had built up were completely burned to the ground. Scorch marks were evident in their equipment and Cherris was pretty sure that there was nothing repairable.

Whoever had attacked, had been very thorough.

The Jedi holstered the blaster and began searching the ground for anything resembling technology. Cherris helped him, curiosity spiked as to who this Jedi could be.

They gave up after a full hour of silently searching through debris, coming up only with a few ration packs and water bottles that had miraculously survived the attack.

"I guess that's it for plan A." the stranger muttered as he straightened from a crouch and wiped his hands across his legs.

"What's plan B?" Cherris asked, taking a swing from one of the water bottles.

"There's a weapons cache a few miles from here. That's where we need to go."

Cherris frowned, "Please define a few miles."

The man shrugged, "A little over a hundred I suppose."

Cherris sat down on the cold floor and stretched her tired legs, "Have a nice trip."

"Need I remind you that you don't have much of a choice?" He pointed to her backpack, "Your rations won't hold you for long. And there's nothing here to call for help. What does common sense dictate?"

Cherris completely disliked his tone of voice and crossed her arms across her chest. She was more than just a little annoyed by the fact that the Jedi was of course correct.

"Before we leave, we burry Aeron."

They searched for something to dig through the hard ground and found two small shovels usually intended for soft earth.

It took them another hour to reach Aeron's place of death and they got to work immediately, the only light source the beautiful white moon above them.

Silently they dug Aeron's final resting place.

Cherris sat down on the ground, taking another swing from her water bottle, "How deep do you think it should be?"

"Are there any wild animals around here?" the Jedi asked, as he kept shoveling dirt over his shoulder. He had taken off his shirt and Cherris kept telling herself to look away from his athletic body.

Even though she wanted to take a good look at the Jedi, she was glad it was still very dark. He wouldn't see her blush.

Cherris shrugged, "Of course."

"Then at least two meters." He said, shoveling faster.

Cherris jumped to her feet, limping towards the shovel she had let fall.

"Sit down." The Jedi said, his voice strained as he heaved another load of dirt over his shoulder. Cherris frowned, "What?""Sit down." He repeated without looking at her, "I can see you're in pain and it won't do me any good if I have to carry you the entire way. So sit down."

Cherris did as she was told, feeling just a tiny bit scolded. "Fine." She muttered under her breath, as she sat down on the cold floor, her dark eyes involuntarily moving towards Aeron's lifeless body. They had covered him up in clothes Cherris had found in his backpack.

The few belongings he had carried around with him were now stashed in Cherris' pockets. She would make sure that his wife received everything that was still retrievable.

It didn't take too long for the Jedi to finish and as he jumped out of the self-dug hole, Cherris got back to her feet, a look of sadness etched onto her face. He nodded and she helped him carry Aeron's body to the grave.

As easily as they could they let his body fall into the hole and Cherris stood there with a vacant expression on her face.

"Is there some tradition you need to perform?" the stranger asked softly. Cherris shook her head.

Silently she prayed for his soul, that Aeron would make it to his destined place after death, that he was happy where ever he was.

The Jedi shoveled the dirt back into the grave.


	4. Chapter 4

They camped a few miles away from the grave site. The Jedi kept watch for the first night, wanting for Cherris to get some sleep that evaded her.

They had found a few dried up plants, which they had used to start a fire. It was almost burned up, the coldness of the night slowly creeping into Cherris' bones. Her ankle was about driving her mad; after long minutes of going through her pack, she had finally retrieved pain medication.

She lay on her back, staring up to the black sky, wondering what she had done wrong in her life to deserve something like this. Absent mindedly she began drumming her fingers on the sandy ground, catching the Jedi's attention.

He was sitting with his back to her, "You should sleep."

Cherris frowned, "I can't. There's too much on my mind." She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

Under different circumstances it would have been a beautiful evening. A soft, cool breeze had replaced the warm sunny afternoon and there was not a sound, except their own breathing.

"I can take over, if you want." Cherris suggested, "I'm pretty sure I won't be able to sleep anyway."

But he shook his head, "Rest. You'll need all your strength for later on."

Cherris rolled her eyes and sighed. She didn't want to argue the point and changed the subject, "You haven't told me your name yet. I'm Cherris, by the way."

He turned around and nodded, "Kyp." was all he said and nothing more.

Cherris thought back to the reports she had read about the Jedi. The name Kyp wasn't too uncommon among humans but if her memory served her correctly, there was only one Jedi named Kyp and he was the man who had blown up a planet.

She arched an eyebrow and cleared her throat, "Kyp. Hm. Is your last name Durron?"

He ignored her henceforth, the stars suddenly catching his attention.

Cherris didn't much care. She shrugged and lay back down, waiting for the first beam of yellow sunlight to show on the horizon.

Cherris awoke with a very stiff neck. She had used her pack as a make shift pillow; not a very smart idea, she had realized when sitting up. She stretched painful muscles and slowly got to her feet. She didn't know what time it was but already it was heating up.

Kyp stood a few feet away from her, one hand shielding his eyes as he seemed to be watching something.

Cherris grabbed her backpack and hurried to stand next to him – wincing just a little as she shifted her weight onto her other foot – , a smile surfacing as she realized what he was looking at.

"We didn't have time to name them yet." She said while rummaging through her pack, trying to locate her binoculars, "They're magnificent creatures." Cherris went on.

Large, round and lucid, the strange animals floated through midair. At first glance it seemed they travelled in packs and she watched with fascination as the creatures suddenly began to move more directly. At first Cherris thought this was their way to communicate; their entire body suddenly rippled, resembling a small water pool.

She dialed the magnification higher and suddenly caught sight of a rather large, furry spider-like creature scurrying across the sandy plain. And within seconds the round, lucid beings were atop the it.

Cherris heard Kyp suck in his breath as both of them witnessed the balloon like beings dive towards the spider. One of them caught head on and flattened itself atop the spiders' body.

Cherris dialed the magnification even higher and was appalled as she witnessed the lucid balloon fill itself with a very dark red substance. Within seconds the spider collapsed to the ground, seemingly drained of blood.

"Disgusting creatures. " Kyp muttered and shook his head.

Cherris wrinkled her noise, "Vampire balloons. This is new."

"Not so magnificent anymore, now are they?"

Cherris stashed the binoculars back into her pack and shrugged, "In their own way they still are. It's eat or be eaten; the oldest law of life." She heaved a sigh, "Still, I suppose it would be wise to move around them. I'm not too fond of blood-sucking balloon Vampires attached to my body."

She shivered involuntarily as a picture of one of the creatures hefted to her face appeared in her minds eye.

Cherris turned around and was happy to finally take a good look at her Jedi captor/rescuer. She wasn't quite sure which fit Kyp the best. She couldn't feel any hostile intent from him but still she wanted to be careful.

She didn't trust him.

He was taller than she was, with short dark hair and light green eyes. Cherris had to admit, the man was handsome. And at this thought she frowned at herself. Rolling her eyes and taking a breath, she limped after Kyp, who had began walking in the opposite direction, away from the balloon creatures.

"How do you know which way to go?" Cherris asked, shouldering her back pack.

"I just know."

Cherris hoped their future conversation would go a little smoother. If not, it would indeed be a very boring and uneventful trip.

"Fata Morgana." Cherris muttered, as she held up her hands above her eyes, again wishing she had thought of bringing a pair of shades for the trip.

Kyp, walking beside her, gave her a quizzical look.

"Am I seeing things or is that really a patch of green over there?" Cherris pointed.

To her surprise Kyp nodded, "Unless we're both having the same hallucination."

They had been walking for almost three hours, Cherris having to stop in between due to her ankle, hardly saying a word and continued on in silence. Unlike Cherris, Jedi Durron didn't seem to be a very talkative person.

So she started asking questions, "Do you know what happened to the others of my team?"

He shrugged, "When I got to you, the camp was already deserted."

Cherris sighed, "Well, they must have fled somewhere." Her voice trailed off as she thought about the whereabouts of her teammates. She hoped that they were alright.

They walked on – in silence – until the reached the beginning of the greens. It was a strange sight, Cherris thought; a beautiful, lush, green landscape with thick, tall trees in the middle of the desert. The scientist part of her brain tried looking for explanations as to how this was possible, whereas the skeptic part kept telling her to be careful.

"You know," she began, stopping in mid stride and letting her backpack fall to the ground, "I have a bad feeling about this." She knelt down, opening the pack and extracting a water bottle.

Kyp nodded absent mindedly and slowly walked towards the trees, one hand on his lightsaber. Cherris raised her eyebrows as she watched him move, throwing her backpack over her shoulder again.

She kept quiet while she followed him, not wanting to disturb whatever it was he was doing. She guessed he was using the Force. Cherris didn't know too much about Jedi only that they had powers normal beings could only dream of.

Well, according to various holo movies.

She hurried to keep up with him, moving alongside his tall form and watching him intently. He had a strange look in his eyes; Cherris supposed he was concentrating on something or someone.

There was a loud screeching sound and Cherris jumped, her eyes searching the sky for whatever had startled her so.

"What in the world was that?" she whispered.

"I thought you and your team already catalogued all sentient beings around here?" Kyp said and Cherris thought she heard amusement evident in his voice.

"Well, not everything. It would have taken months –"

She screamed as something dark and furry jumped towards her, lunging for her throat. Cherris dropped to the ground as she heard the _snap-hiss_ of Kyp's lightsaber and relief flooded her body as the creature lay dead beside her; what was left of it, anyway.

Large, yellow fangs protruded from its mouth; Cherris looked for its eyes or something resembling a nose but the creature was completely covered in long, nappy fur.

"Thank you." She whispered, getting to her feet and moving away from the dead animal. Kyp shut off his lightsaber and Cherris frowned, "You have a purple lightsaber?", she asked incredulously.

He ignored her question and clipped his weapon back to his belt, next to her blaster, "We should keep going."

A shudder ran down Cherris spine as she shifted her gaze into the dark woods, "I wonder what else is lurking in there…"


	5. Chapter 5

Cherris sat down on the damp grass, stretching her tired legs out in front of her. The sun was setting, a cool breeze going through the trees. She closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the sounds of nature, listening to birds and insects all around her.

And to Kyp's sudden and very vivid cursing.

A frown creased her forehead and she opened her dark eyes, searching for the Jedi. She heard him walk towards her from behind, muttering under his breath.

"Are you okay?" she asked turning her dark head towards the young Jedi Knight. The look on his face was one of carefully controlled anger; lines across his forehead told her that he was also in pain.

Cherris got to her feet, making sure to shift her weight onto her other ankle, and walked towards him. He ignored her again, a trait she was getting extremely annoyed with. "What happened?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest, a defiant expression on her face.

"You know those tiny red flying things we saw a while back?" he said, picking up Cherris' backpack and throwing it over his shoulder. Cherris nodded and slowly followed Kyp as he started walking on, "Well, watch for them while taking a leak."

Cherris' frown deepened but when she noticed Kyp's slight limp, she couldn't help but laugh.

"They bite, huh?" she asked, a wide grin spreading across her face.

She was getting used to walking in silence, taking in the odd surroundings. Here and there she would stop to rummage through her backpack, taking a few pictures with her holocamera.

After a long while Cherris stopped and listened to a familiar sound; the sound of running water.

Her heart leaped with joy as she realized they had finally come to a large, winding river of cool, flowing clear water. She passed Kyp in a hurry, her foot screaming out in pain but she ignored it.

Taking off one of her boots – and needing help with the other – she immersed her legs within the water, closing her eyes and lifting her head up towards the darkening sky.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Kyp called from behind, dropping the backpack to the ground.

This time it was her who ignored him, going against the scientist within her, knowing it was a very stupid idea to jump into a river without knowing what swam around her legs.

She just didn't care.

"You should join me!" she called back, turning around to face him with a smile on her face, "The water might cool the bug bites!"

Kyp scowled and sat down on the bank.

Laughing Cherris splashed water into her face, rinsing off dirt and tears and feeling clean after two very long days in the wild.

She walked back towards the Jedi and sat down next to him, "How much further is it?" she asked in a low voice, her gaze wandering back to the river, watching as the silver water ran its course.

Kyp shrugged, "Another day or two."

Cherris sighed and lay back on the grass, watching white clouds pass by overhead. It was getting dark extraordinarily quick, Cherris thought. "We should make camp." She said, stretching.

Kyp nodded, "But not here."

They walked another hour or so, starting another fire when the only illumination emanated from the white moon above them.

Cherris fell asleep and dreamed of her home, of her friends and family. And not once did she see furry creatures with long, pointy fangs or small red bugs ready to bite at the first notice. Under the circumstances Cherris slept well.

Kyp woke her with a slight shake. She came wide awake almost immediately, taking the second watch and letting Kyp rest for the rest of the night. The breeze around her was cool and her pants were still damp from her splash in the river.

I should have taken off my clothes first, Cherris thought with a frown but smiled as she imagined the young Jedi's reaction to a half naked female scientist.

She chuckled but dismissed the thought.

He slept soundlessly, a lock of dark hair covering his left eye. He seemed at peace when he was sleeping, Cherris thought. When she was a child, her grandmother had once told her that while watching someone sleep, you could see his or her true face.

Kyp seemed so young to her; too young to have already seen and done so much.

He's not much older than yourself, Cherris thought, pulling her knees towards her chest.

The rest of the night she distracted herself with counting stars and hoping that the first beams of sunlight would soon be seen over the horizon.

After a meal of dried up rations, they walked on. Cherris could still hear the river nearby but the beautiful sound of water was disturbed by a sudden thundering sound. At first Cherris thought there was a storm brewing but when it sounded a second time, she realized it was an animal.

A large animal.

She stopped walking, frantically looking from side to side, hoping against hope that there weren't any more creatures wanting to eat her.

"Come on." Kyp said, grabbing her hand and beckoning her to move forward, "We should hurry."

"Can't you reach out with the Force and feel whatever that was?" Cherris asked, hoping that the fear she felt wasn't evident in her voice.

"I just did."

Cherris waited for an explanation but when Kyp kept quiet fear slowly turned into panic, "What is it then?"

Kyp shrugged, "I don't know." He sounded annoyed, "But I have the feeling we should hurry up."


	6. Chapter 6

Coldness spread throughout her body, starting at her toes and moving towards her fingertips. It had started raining and the cold wind surrounding them bit through her clothes.

And they kept running.

_Run, run, run or you'll die…_Cherris kept repeating to herself, hurrying to catch up to the Jedi Knight. He kept beckoning for her to run faster but she was a scientist, not an athlete.

The loud growling sound, now seemingly coming from everywhere at once, grew louder and Cherris forced herself to stay calm. It wouldn't do anyone any good if she'd start getting hysterical, screaming like a little child for someone to help. Even though she felt like doing just that.

Kyp suddenly stopped and Cherris almost ran him over. He gave her one of those typical annoyed looks she was slowly getting used to and gestured for her not to talk. He concentrated on something she couldn't fathom, his gaze far away.

It was very interesting, from a scientific point of view. Some would put the Force off as being something for religious fanatics but what she had so far seen made her think twice about such an assumption.

The Force was a magnificent tool but she imagined that responsibility always travelled in its wake.

Kyp's low voice ripped her out of her thoughts, "You know, there's something I honestly don't understand." He frowned, "If your people have already been here, cataloguing this place, how the hell did they miss _that_?"

She was almost afraid to ask, "Miss what?"

Following his gaze, her heart seemed to stop, "Oh. My."

It wasn't as large as she had assumed, considering the awful sounds it made, but it scared the hell out of her. In a strange way, the creature reminded her of an overgrown, mutated furry dog, with long pointed, slimy fangs. Its fur was a dark rusty red and four sharp, pointed bone-like appendages protruded from its scalp.

Even from a distance of at least a few hundred meters, Cherris was positive the creature could see them very well.

"What do we do now?" she whispered, somehow afraid that the creature could and would hear her.

Kyp's response was drowned out by and ear splitting roar and Cherris cupped her hands over her ears.

Rain and coldness could be ignored but the fear she felt was paralyzing her.

Kyp firmly grabbed her hand, pulling her the other way, trying to avoid staying in the creatures' line of sight. The beautiful green landscape was slowly coming to an end, no more trees or blooming flowers could be seen.

The desert greeted them with a hideous weather and with a creature even more so.

Besides the growling, Cherris suddenly noticed a trembling beneath her feet. The scientist within was curious and she took a look behind her shoulder, instantly wishing she hadn't.

The creature was following them. It amazed her how agile and fast it was, even though it was so very big.

They kept running and running and running until finally the fact that there was no where to go settled in. The cave system was on the other side of the oasis and in the dark neither Kyp nor Cherris could see very much.

Cherris heard him sigh and unclip his lightsaber from his belt. The rain from above sizzled as it touched the surface of the amethyst blade, small billows of smoke rising into the air.

"Keep running!" he ordered but Cherris couldn't. She couldn't leave him here, alone to fight of this hellish demon.

She was rooted to the spot, afraid for herself and afraid for him. She shook her head.

"I said go!" he suddenly shouted, his voice rising. "There's nothing you can do here!"

The rain pelted down from the darkened sky, the once beautiful twinkling stars now covered by dark clouds. Cherris started to argue when she was suddenly pushed.

A frown creased her forehead but then she realized that it was Kyp, pushing her back with the Force, a definite signal to get going.

I can't just leave him here, she thought. But common sense told her to leave; she'd die if she didn't and so would he because she'd be in the way.

"Go." He said more softly this time and she did as she was told.

Death was a thing Cherris did not want to deal with. Losing Aeron to an explosion devastated her; possibly losing a Jedi because he wanted to protect her? She felt bad. She felt absolutely dreadful.

But she walked on, the sounds of the hideous beast still in the air, the trembling still beneath her feet. Soon the creature would stop.

She prayed to all the Gods in the universe that Kyp would survive.

Maybe the holomovies are correct and the Jedi _are_ almighty, she thought while taking a deep breath and hurrying on.

Her ankle was throbbing and she thought it was swelling with each step she took. She bit down on her teeth and tried ignoring it as best she could.

Rain, cold and pain; what more could anyone want? She thought glumly.

The beast suddenly stopped bellowing but instead uttered and ear splitting screech that could have shattered glass. And then all went quiet.

Cherris listened to the wind, trying to focus on other sounds around her but hearing nothing. Her heart beat was erratic as she hoped that her Jedi savior was alright.

Taking a deep breath she continued on. Whatever had happened, if Kyp was still alive, they'd meet up sooner or later.

She was sure of it. But still she slowed her steps, the hope that the Jedi Knight would soon be right behind her in the back of her mind. And then she stopped, letting the cold rain caress her face, the cool wind making the water feel like ice on her skin.

Cherris was exhausted; she wanted to sleep, to take a long warm bath and to finally have a decent meal. She wanted this ordeal to be over with.

Without thinking about it much, she fell to her knees and sat there for a while, tears that she had so far ignored surfacing and for a very long moment she wept for Aeron, for herself and possibly for Kyp.


	7. Chapter 7

The silence was unnerving. Cherris didn't dare move as she listened to her surroundings, her heart beating erratically beneath her chest.

The rain was slowly subsiding; here and there she made out a dripping noise and the moonlight showed her a puddle or two in her vicinity.

But the wind was still vicious against her wet and cold skin. She was shivering all over and she knew she would soon need warmth.

She moved on, step by step to wherever her feet would take her. Occasionally she would look over her shoulder, hoping to see a dark silhouette of her Jedi savior behind her but her hopes were shattered each time and she walked on.

It seemed like hours when she caught sight of a single, large, oval boulder that would grant her protection from the icy winds. At least for one night, she thought glumly as she sat down on top of her backpack.

Wrapping her arms around herself, she closed her eyes and took a deep, steadying breath.

"What now?" she asked aloud as she rocked back and forth, "Where should I go?" Leaning back against the stone boulder, she gazed up to the darkened sky. Clouds still obscured her view to the stars but once and a while she caught sight of the brightest of them all, it seemed.

She thought back to her school days when being forced to take astronomy classes. At the time she had considered it to be extremely boring but as she matured she found space and everything about it to be vastly interesting and intriguing.

While reminiscing on the past and saving the future for later, the wind picked up and began singing a sad song and Cherris drifted off to sleep.

Her eyes suddenly flew open and she sat still, gazing left and right and to the front again. Something had woken her…

She got to her feet and hoisted her backpack over her shoulder, taking a shuddering breath. "Whereto?" she wondered aloud.

One part of her wanted to go back, to settle the growing curiosity as to what had happened to Kyp but another part wanted to obey his order and carry on. "But whereto?" her voice had a pleading edge to it, "I have no idea where the hell I am…"

She stood still as she heard a shuffling sound; the sound that had woken her.

Fear gripped her and although the inside voice screamed for her to run, her legs did not obey.

"Cherris?"

Letting her backpack drop back to the ground and her heart skipping a beat as she realized the soft voice belonging to Kyp, she let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"I'm here." She answered with a quivering voice.

And you're okay after all, she thought.

When he came closer, she saw that he was carrying something with him, a part of the thing scraping along the desert ground.

The clouds parted to show a vivid white moon, its light illuminating what was left of the beast that had decided to attack them.

Cherris arched an eyebrow and pointed to the overgrown dog with a shaky finger, "Your trophy?"

Kyp shook his head, "No. Food." He came to stand beside Cherris and for the first time she saw him flash a smile.

_Oh, please do that again_, she thought wistfully, _make my stomach do another flip like that. _

Cherris cleared her throat and took another look at the animal. "It doesn't seem very tasty."

Kyp shrugged as he let the animal drop to the ground with a thud, wiping his hands on his legs, "I don't care if it tastes like dried up bantha fodder, as long as it's nourishment enough. I'm _done_ with rations."

The rain had completely subsided and the wind was nothing more than a soft breeze caressing Cherris' dirtied face. A few strands of her dark hair danced around her head, tickling her nose.

She watched Kyp plop onto the sandy ground with a wince, one hand going to his abdomen and Cherris was instantly alert. "You're hurt."

She knelt beside him, worry evident in her voice, "I have an aid kit in my back pack."

But Kyp waved the remark away, closing his eyes and leaning against the cold rock. Even with only the moon as her only source of light she could see that he wasn't doing too well. There were bruises on his face that hadn't been there before, dried up scratches running from his temple to his chin. And these were the injuries she could see. The way he was shielding his stomach, Cherris was pretty sure the injuries beneath his clothes were severe.

"What good will you do me if you're dead?" Cherris suddenly spat, irritated at the Jedi for putting his life on the line in the first place, "I don't feel like being stuck out here on my own and, like it or not, I need you to get me the hell off this rock. So cut the hard head crap and let me see if there's something I can do to help."

There was a slight frown on the man's face and anger in his dark eyes. Normally Cherris would have cringed away but with everything that had happened, with the cold biting away at the last fringes of her self control, she couldn't care less.

Without a word Kyp shifted his position and helped Cherris pull up his shirt. She grabbed for her backpack and rummaged for the aid kit. It was small and no doubt out of date; Cherris hoped that it at least entailed everything she might need.

She dug out a small flashlight and examined Kyp's abdomen. Dark bruises surfaced on his light skin and as she reached out to touch him he flinched away. Cherris handed him a pack of pain meds and he swallowed a few of them without complaint.

Kyp bit down and winced as Cherris felt her way around the rib cage, hoping she wasn't causing him too much pain. Satisfied that nothing was broken she took a deep breath, "Sorry about that." She whispered, one hand going through her hair.

Before Kyp covered himself again Cherris burned the image of his abs into her memory and suddenly felt a blush rise to her cheeks. She rolled her eyes and wondered why her thoughts would even wander that way in a situation like this…

"What else do you have in there?" Kyp asked in a husky voice, nodding to the first aid kit.

"Uh…mostly pain medication and antibiotics. Gauges and tape. The usual. Why?"

He shrugged, "Just curious." He closed his eyes and kept quiet for a very long time. Cherris watched him breathe, watched his chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm. Eventually he fell asleep and she let him have his well deserved rest.

She moved beside him, leaning against the cold boulder and shifted her gaze to the sky. It would only be another few hours before dawn and Cherris wondered what else was lying in wait for them, how long it would take for them to finally find civilization again.

Closing her eyes she listened to the wind as it brought back that sad song she had fallen asleep to the first time.

_Well_, Cherris thought as she opened her eyes, _at least it stopped raining._

A beautiful white sun hung above them, the warm light cascading down onto the ground. The warmth felt wonderful on her skin, banishing the last remnants of cold that had tried to force itself onto her bones.

For the first time in days she actually felt good.

She shifted her gaze towards Kyp. He was still sleeping, leaning against the boulder with his arms hugging himself. His complexion was pale, the bruises under and around one eye, dark.

Cherris was honestly worried about her Jedi savior.

She thought about waking him but decided to let him sleep, knowing he'd need his strength when they continued on with their trek.

Instead her gaze shifted towards the dead thing lying a few feet away from her. She was appalled at the thought of cutting the thing up and devouring it but she had to admit, she was extraordinarily hungry.

There was a scalpel in her pack and she was pretty sure she could start up a fire. But she'd never actually cut up a dead animal before. Her stomach rebelled as revulsion hit but she kept telling herself it would be as if she were cooking at home in her warm apartment, only with crude appliances.

The thought of meat above an open fire was a wonderful one; she got up and first searched for weeds to get a fire started. It took longer than expected, since everything around her was still rather wet but after a while she got lucky.

With the fire going she turned around to the dead animal and was briefly tempted to wake Kyp. But as she gazed to his form, huddled together against the boulder, she took a deep breath, rummaged for the scalpel and began her work on the animal.

"This was so worth it." Cherris mumbled as the scent of roasted meat wafted into the air.

Her stomach felt horrible. She still felt queasy after having gagged up everything and nothing still inside of her, while working her way to the fine smelling meat now above the flames.

She had been kidding herself. Getting the food above the flames had been _nothing_ like cooking at home.

To prop up the food she had used her examining tools from the pack, figuring that she wouldn't need them anymore anyway.

She jumped to her feet, walking towards Kyp and gently touching his arm. She shook him just a little and when he didn't respond she called his name. In a low voice at first, not wanting to startle him but it became clear that the Jedi was a deep sleeper.

"Kyp!" she called, shoving him a little harder and she grew annoyed as he mumbled something and slept on, "Wake up, dammit!" she called, punching his arm.

His green eyes fluttered open and he frowned, "What?"

"Smell that?"

He turned his head, watching as smoke twirled around in the air, rising above their heads and dissipating in the clouds. Kyp sat up and rubbed his eyes, "You did all this on your own?" he asked eyeing the contraption of her examining tools and their warm breakfast.

Cherris arched an eyebrow, "No. I had the little people help me. You know, the ones I have stashed in my pack with everything else?"

Kyp ignored the comment, stretching his aching muscles.

Cherris moved back to the fire, thinking that Kyp might need a few minutes of privacy. She heard him move around and after a moment he sat down cross legged next to her. "Thank you."

Cherris frowned, "For what?"

He cleared his throat. It seemed to her he wasn't used to the thank-you parts of life. "For helping me out last night. And for letting me sleep. The healing trance took care of most of the injuries."

"Ah." Cherris said, biting off a piece of the meat she had so delicately quartered. She had almost forgotten about the Jedi and their Force thing. "How does this healing trance work?" she asked as her curiosity spiked.

Kyp grabbed for one of the examining appliances that now functioned as a sort of knife and bit off a piece of the now darkened meat. He chewed in silence, his dark eyes scanning the desert plane around them.

Even Cherris thought that it was too quiet around them and involuntarily the thought of a calm before the storm surfaced.

"The Jedi use the Force to hurry along the healing process. That's actually all there is to it." He noticed the frown on Cherris' face and chuckled lightly, "Well, if you want the details you'll have to talk to one of our Healers."

"You have Healers?" Cherris asked in between swallowing.

Their food didn't even taste that bad, she thought. It was a bitter taste but not as dry as she had suspected it would be.

Kyp nodded, "Yeah. The media portray Jedi to be mostly warriors. But that's not entirely the case."

Cherris sighed and closed her eyes for just a moment. The wind around them picked up a notch and its breeze upon her face felt wonderful.

"The Jedi seem interesting."

Kyp smiled and shrugged, "Depends on who you ask."

They ate in silence and after Cherris felt like she would burst, she lay on the desert ground shielding her eyes with her arm. The sun's yellow glow was in no means merciful and Cherris knew the day would get hotter by the hour. Already beads of sweat were running down her temples.

She turned onto her side, pulling the backpack towards her outstretched arm and rummaged for one of the water bottles. When she grabbed it she was annoyed that it was only half full. Two more bottles were left unopened.

_I hope we'll find a river or something_, Cherris thought as she took a long gulp of the warm water, washing down the last bit of taste of the bitter meat. Her lips were dry from the warmth and her throat felt like sandpaper. But she decided to ration her water as best she could, a small hope in the back of her mind that they'd stumble across a waterbed.

"We should get moving." Kyp said getting to his feet and helping Cherris clean up. They packed most of the utensils back into the pack and Cherris was very surprised when Kyp volunteered to carry the it for a while.

"But you're hurt." She shook her head, "I've done fine up until now and I'll do fine the rest of the way." She moved passed him in a quick pace and she could have sworn she saw a smile surface on the Jedi's face.

They returned to the silent routine as they walked on. Side by side, taking one step after another, in complete and utter silence.

"I know you talk." Cherris said, shifting her gaze to the ground. The sun seemed harsher, hurting her eyes when she tried taking in her surroundings. After walking a little over an hour, all she could make out was a mountainous region a few kilometers in front of them. And she supposed that was where they were headed.

Once Kyp had caught sight of the region he had hurried on even more.

Raising a dark brow he gazed her way, "I do."

Cherris nodded, hooking her thumbs beneath the straps of the backpack, "So then why don't you?"

At first she thought he would ignore her again. It seemed when things got uncomfortable, if situations occurred he didn't feel like dealing with, he'd keep quiet, ignoring anything and everything. But he surprised her when he cleared his throat, "I just don't like talking too much."

Cherris sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead, "I'm annoyed by the silent treatment. Honestly, is your life so horrible that you compensate by being a silent monk?"

Kyp chuckled.

_Ha! Gotcha. _

But he kept quiet all the same. Cherris frowned and shook her head, a few strands of dark hair falling into her face, "How far until we reach the cache?"

She'd ask questions the entire way if she'd have to; she couldn't do with this quietness.

Kyp pointed to the mountainous region up ahead and shrugged, "I'm guessing only a few more hours."

"Oh, joy! Another few hours of walking without talking!" she rolled her eyes skyward, "Well, if things go according to whatever plan you hacked up, we might be off this planet by tonight then, right?"

The Jedi suddenly stopped and had a peculiar look on his face. Cherris wondered what he was thinking as he flashed a smile and walked on, shaking his head.

_Oh, dammit! Stop doing that! _Cherris thought as that flutter returned to her stomach. She liked it when the Jedi smiled. She liked it a lot.

But still he wouldn't talk and that fact just bugged the hell out of her.


End file.
